Bridger Foote

05/03/2020

Professor Tyler Smith

Film and Culture 1070

Research Paper: The progressiveness of Love, Simon

I have decided to do my final research paper on the popular coming of age drama: Love,

Simon. This film delves deep into a handful of core concepts discussed throughout our semester,

highlighting sexual identity, gender roles, and queer culture, while projecting these ideologies

towards what I would call a family-friendly introduction, inside the world of queer self-

discovery.

The story revolves around closeted teenager, Simon Spier, and how he balances out his

life, whilst being blackmailed by Martin, a fellow classmate, who has discovered Simon’s

deepest secret, being that he identifies as being gay. This happens simultaneously alongside a

plot point in which a boy from Simon’s high school, posts an online confession onto a popular

social media site, anonymously letting the world know he is a gay student at their school. This

character goes by the pseudonym, “Blue”, and Simon, who reaches out to this character, calls

himself “Jacques”. Essentially, the film centers around Simon making every educated guess to

figure out the identity behind Blue, while also doing everything Martin asks of Simon, in order to

keep his secret safe.

The film does a fantastic job at breaking the boundaries between the classical,

stereotypical, “gay character” by portraying Simon with personality traits, as well as a

demeanor, that fits “your average teenage boy”. Meaning, just like in the real world, any

person, no matter their race, gender, personality, or cultural background can be gay,

straight, or somewhere in between. There is a prevalent sway in tearing down these

gender constructs that have been placed on queer characters over the history of film.

Whereas, for example, inserting a high pitched voice, wearing clothes that are deemed

more “feminine” , and applying makeup onto a male character to give a nod at towards

their sexuality; are ways in which filmmakers have used for years, to identify and

indicate that a character is queer. This is not the case in Love, Simon.

Instead, we have an everyday teenager, just like any other kid his age, and he just

so happens to be gay. The movie refrains from involving any sort of shock factor towards

his sexuality, nor is the notion of sexuality really an issue for anyone, except for Simon.

Which I would say is what makes this film stand out from other LGBTQ+ movies.

Perhaps it’s the progressiveness of our 21st century, and the accepting nature of

Generation Z, but the directors and writers seem to be extremely aware of the

normalization of what it is to be gay by today’s standards. There is even a scene in which

they make a mockery of the “coming out” process, in which; as if the audience takes a

journey into Simon’s mind, he imagines what it would be like for heterosexual teenagers,

if they were put in the position that queer people face all the time, the coming out

process.

In this scene, various characters from the film confront their parents in a satirical, over

the top, camp-style setting, admitting to their parents they are heterosexual. This

dramatized scene includes parents crying, surprised, angry, and even blaming genealogy

as one parent hilariously responds with, “you get that from your daddies’ side.” It is an
intriguing way in which someone who is not a part of the queer community, can imagine

what it would be like, and reflect on some of the obstacles gay people encounter. The

scene unfolds due to a thought in which Simon questions why being straight, “is the

default” Why is it, that culturally, we’ve defaulted our sexual desires, as first and

foremost being heterosexual, only to force those who differentiate, to very literally make

an announcement of their sexual preferences?

By taking a look back into the history of cinema, I would say many of these ideologies

stem towards the portrayal of masculinity and gender norms in films of the past. One

example mentioned in our book would be, Dead Reckoning, a 1947 action mystery, that

by today’s standards, includes an overarching theme of sexism and misogyny, with a

clear demonstration of what masculinity looked like in the late forties. Films of not only

this era, but even of today, have used a “tough guy” approach, classifying certain traits as

“manly” or “masculine”. For instance, the classic action movie, with a male hero or

authority figure whom saves the day, has been recreated time and time again. In fact,

looking at the superhero demographics, you will see that up until recently, there has been

a major gap in female led superhero films. 2019’s Captain Marvel, and 2018’s Wonder

Woman, debuted as some of the first major motion picture superhero films with a female

lead, to be released since 2005’s, Elektra. With that being said, even though people have

become more aware of stereotypical categorizations on both men and women, we still

have plenty to work on towards mending the misinterpretations of cinema’s past.

Jumping back to Love, Simon the film also encompasses a casual romantic aspect, as

Simon begins to fall in love with the boy he’s been talking to online. After being outed,

and the whole school finding out he’s gay, Simon continues on his pursuit of discovery,
by publicly addressing Blue on social media, asking him to come forward by meeting

him on the Ferris wheel at the local carnival. They end up finally meeting, the mystery

behind Blue’s identity is solved, and ultimately there’s a happy ending. This simple

romance between boy and boy differentiated between several queer films I’ve seen, due

to it’s family friendly nature. The movie still contained sexual innuendos, adult content,

and a comedic nature aimed towards a more mature audience, however, what made it

different was its lack of sex appeal. In other words, many of the LGBTQ+ films of this

genre emphasize sex, lustful tendencies, and a passion or desire relying on forbidden

love. Movies such as Brokeback Mountain, or my personal favorite, Call Me By Your

Name, are fabulous films, that demonstrate this desire to taste the “forbidden fruit”, per

say.

The fact of the matter is that Love, Simon is rare type of film because it doesn’t take an

approach of over sexualizing the gay community, where many queer films have done just

that. It’s a movie that casually addresses sexuality, but does so in an appropriate manor,

suitable for all ages, instead of a film that’s borderline pornographic and geared towards

adults. Many may not understand the significance of having a film such as this for young

queer people. But I find it of great importance for the next generation to have what my

generation didn’t have as a kid. Film and TV need to branch out from heteronormative

tendencies. It’s important that gay parents can be shown on Disney Channel, that a

lesbian character can be portrayed on Nickelodeon, that perhaps a Disney Prince, or a

marvel hero will be represented as queer. Representation can be family friendly just as

easily as it can be sexualized, or stereotyped.

In conclusion, I would say that Love, Simon has done what many films within the

LGBQ+ world have failed to do, which would be breaking away from the cultural norms

by creating a wholesome, educational film of the coming out process, and doing so while

appropriately addressing gender stereotypes and sexual orientation. It may come as a

surprise to those who live under a rock, but sexuality does not define one’s self, nor does

being queer mean you are going to behave a specific way. At the end of the day, we are

all human, and we come in many forms, with a plethora of differences, and a multitude of

similarities. Our portrayal in film, no matter what minority you may stem from, should be

just the same.